FRIDAY,

JULY 16, 2021

Today is the 197th day of 2021 and the 27th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1790, the District of Columbia was established as the permanent capital of the United States.

In 1945, the United States successfully detonated a test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico, an event now considered to mark the beginning of the Atomic Age.

In 1951, J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” was published.

In 1979, Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., along with his wife and sister-in-law, died in a private plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Roald Amundsen (1872- 1928), explorer; Kathleen Norris (1880-1966), author; Orville Redenbacher (1907-1995), farmer/businessman; Barbara Stanwyck (1907-1990), actress; Ginger Rogers (1911- 1995), dancer/actress; Jimmy Johnson (1943- ), football coach/broadcaster; Tony Kushner (1956- ), playwright; Michael Flatley (1958- ), dancer; Miguel Indurain (1964- ), cyclist; Will Ferrell (1967- ), actor; Barry Sanders (1968- ), football player; Adam Scott (1980- ), golfer; Carli Lloyd (1982- ), soccer player.

TODAY’S FACT: The world’s first parking meter, installed on this day in 1935 in Oklahoma City, charged 5 cents per hour.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1941, New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio hit safely in his 56th consecutive game, setting a Major League Baseball record that still stands.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Any professional athlete will tell you that the mind is everything. For me, there is no shame in saying that I visualize and I meditate, because it really works.” -- Carli Lloyd

TODAY’S NUMBER: 2 -- cities in which the U.S. Senate met formally before settling permanently in Washington, D.C., in 1800. The Senate convened in New York City from 1789 to 1790 and in Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800.

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (July 9) and first quarter moon (July 17).

SATURDAY,

JULY 17, 2021

Today is the 198th day of 2021 and the 28th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1918, abdicated czar Nicholas II and his family were executed by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg, Russia.

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met at the Potsdam Conference in Germany.

In 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California.

In 1975, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, and astronauts from the two countries held the first international meeting in space.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970), author/lawyer; James Cagney (1899- 1986), actor; Art Linkletter (1912-2010), TV personality; Phyllis Diller (1917- 2012), comedian/actress; John Cooper (1923-2000), automobile designer; Vince Guaraldi (1928-1976), composer; Diahann Carroll (1935-2019), actress; Donald Sutherland (1935- ), actor; David Hasselhoff (1952- ), actor; Mark Burnett (1960- ), television producer; Dawn Upshaw (1960- ), opera singer; Luke Bryan (1976- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY’S FACT: Disneyland’s opening day, intended as an exclusive event with limited invitations, was a disaster. Counterfeit passes and thousands of uninvited guests led to overcrowding, power outages, malfunctioning rides and depleted concessions.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2005, Tiger Woods won the British Open, becoming only the second golfer (after Jack Nicklaus) to win each major championship more than once.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.” -- Phyllis Diller

TODAY’S NUMBER: 20 -- U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers in service. The first flight of the aircraft was completed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on this day in 1989.

TODAY’S MOON: First quarter moon (July 17).